Majority of Americans back Israel on Gaza

WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans back Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, according to a poll.

The CNN poll conducted from Friday to Sunday – just as Israel was launching its ground operation in the conflict, which started July 8 – found that 57 per cent of Americans see Israel’s actions as justified, with 12 per cent among those respondents saying Israel is not using enough force.

CNN noted that the same percentage, 57 per cent, believed Israel was justified in its use of force during the previous conflict with Hamas in Gaza in 2012, and 63 per cent thought it was justified during the 2008-2009 Cast Lead conflict.

The survey carried out by ORC International found, however, that Israel’s unfavourables were climbing, with 38 percent saying that they had an unfavourable opinion of the country, up 14 per cent from February, and 60 per cent posting a favorable opinion, down from 72 per cent in February.

The telephone poll of 1,012 Americans had a margin of error of three percentage points.